Public Procurement and Smart Cities - Urban analytics as a development driver

As a first step, the idea was analyze the Municipality expenses, not in the traditional way as the Municipalities normally present, but in a sectorial perspective and find out where the Municipality buys most. In this analysis, on one hand we found that in Vila Nova de Famalicão, water acquisition, telecommunications, energy and fuels are some of the activity sectors where the Municipality spend most.  Furthermore, we also discovered that the suppliers of these basic goods, which are essential for the Municipality running, all arise from big companies that traditionally covers all the national territory. On the other hand, works, computer goods spending, costs with school meals and other expenses with education, sport activities, promotion of quality life, cultural activities, vehicles, and a set of other costs, that are necessary for the Municipality succeed to deliver its services to the citizen, also takes part of this analysis. Geographically, all of these suppliers have a greater proximity to the Municipality.

In fact, the analysis of goods, services and work purchases give us more information about the way the Municipality uses the public money.  More knowledge acquisition and several perspectives to face the activity, correlating different variables, procurement has been working internally with the department in charge of Smart Cities in Vila Nova de Famalicão, specially the urban analytics part. Indeed, the city is also moving towards to getting to know itself better. Collecting and analysing data and the correlation establishment between the several municipal actors is the goal of this internal partnership.

As a matter of fact, while public procurement is analysing the way public money is spent, Smart Cities department is studying how the Municipality performance has impact in the city. This symbiosis let us know better the municipal reality and through collecting and processing some data about demography, the inhabitants performance level, population growth, level of education… give us an idea how will be the public expenditure in the future and how could we prepared our public procurement for the new challenges.

Forecast with past data is essential not only for Smart Cities but also for Public Procurement. With this joint work, we seek and will seek to enable public procurement in order to face future challenges.

Not only the work carried out by Making Spend Matter project, led by Preston’s Municipality, which transferred the good practice on the analysis of public expenses, but also the Municipalities of Pamplona, Kavala, Koszalin, Bistrita and Schaerbeek, along with Vila Nova de Famalicão were essential to enable our teamwork for the Public Procurement Strategic Plan development and for the challenge to introduce strategic procurement (environmental, social and SMEs support) in the tenders.

To sum up, we believe that without this project we would not be ready for the challenges that the city give to us. The analysis of urban performance is therefore the great challenge for the near future in which public procurement will play a crucial role, and where the knowledge sharing will always be the best way to empower our territories.

Article by: Vítor Moreira – CEO Famalicão City Council